Drug-Free Community Coalitions Share $10.5 Million
John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),has awarded $10.5 million in Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grants to 107 communities across the country.
An additional $58.8 million will support the continuation of awards to 602 existing community coalition projects operating in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The goal of the 709 local coalitions is to work together to prevent and reduce drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse among youth.
In addition, 17 new grants totaling $1.18 million were awarded through the DFC Support Mentoring Program. These funds will advance existing DFC grantees to develop more self-supporting community anti-drug coalitions. Under the Mentoring Program, $1.57 million has been awarded to support 21 continuation grants.
The DFC program provides grants of up to $500,000 over five years to community organizations that serve as catalysts for citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. Coalitions are comprised of diverse groups of people, including community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business professionals, law enforcement, and the media.
The 107 new grantees were selected from 353 applicants through a competitive peer review process. To qualify for matching grants, all awardees must have at least a six-month history of working together on substance abuse reduction initiatives, have representation from twelve specific sectors of the community, develop a long-term plan to reduce substance abuse, and participate in a national evaluation of the DFC program.
To see the lists of FY 2006 Drug-Free Communities Grantees, click here.